Man held at city airport with gold chains worth Rs 30 lakh

Customs officials arrested a man carrying gold chains worth Rs 30 lakh at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the city on Friday morning.

According to Customs officials,the passenger,identified as Shabir Ismail Lokhandwala,landed at the airport from Dubai on a Fly Dubai flight. After his movement was found suspicious at the green channel,Customs personnel tried to check on him,but he objected. Eventually,he was frisked and 135 gold chains weighing 1.20 kg were found hidden in a special pocket stitched inside his trouser.

During the interrogation,he said he was was asked to deliver the consignment to an unknown person in Mumbai. He also said he would have received Rs 40,000 as commission for delivering the packet, said an official.

According to officials,Lokhandwala,who has been working in Dubai for more than a decade,has made more than 25 trips from Dubai to Mumbai in the last few years.

He was supposed to go to Mumbai,but he claims he couldnt get a direct flight. So,he bought a ticket for Ahmedabad. From here,he was to go to Mumbai, officials said.

As per a Customs notification issued on April 8,2012,a passenger can bring up to 1 kg of gold,on payment of duty. Anyone bringing in more than 1 kg of gold is liable to be arrested.

Officials said that with the increase of duty (4%) on gold import in the budget of 2012-13,there has been a spurt in such incidents.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram